High school students from Jewish schools in New York and Milan have taken part in ORT’s collaborative problem-solving pilot project aimed at inspiring young people to take action in tackling social and environmental challenges.
The grade 10 and 11 students from New York’s Yeshiva University High School for Girls (YUHSG) and the 11th grade students from ORT-affiliated Scuola Della Comunita Ebraica in Milan gained hands-on experience working in international teams, addressing real-world issues, and developing valuable transferable skills during the International Collaborative Problem-Solving Project.
Importantly, the pupils said they loved the three-month experience and that they had formed genuine friendships across borders during the project, which falls under World ORT’s Global Citizenship educational pillar. The project presented an opportunity for them to practice three Jewish values: achrayut (being accountable), achdut (unity), and chesed (kindness) through the development of their own social action projects.
The two teams worked together to explore social and environmental challenges shared by both communities; they decided to focus on environmental concerns. They then developed, with guidance, a project timeline, action and development plan to address the issue in each of their own communities.
The team from YUHSG believed that community and education could stimulate environmental change for the positive, inspire awareness of the need to protect the planet and promote collective action for a “brighter, greener future”. They promoted the recycling of clothing, cans and bottles and took part in fundraising by making and selling treats to fellow students. They stressed the importance of a reduce and reuse mindset and helped in a clothing gemach (a loan store).
Members of the YUHSG team
The team said: “Hashem gave us this world and we need to keep it clean and take care of it. By reusing and recycling waste we’re able to do that, and being given an opportunity to be a part of this project is amazing.”
Additionally, they said they aimed to create an environmental club to continue to raise awareness, present the project to peers and schedule a beach clean-up in the spring.
YUHSG team members fundraising
Meanwhile, the team from Milan (pictured above) gave themselves the moniker of The Eco Sisters and created a challenge for people to collect litter from their streets. As a reward, participants received an ecological jewel made out of recycled plastic, paid for through the sale of food they had made. They donated the remaining funds to an Italian organisation supporting environmental health and aim to continue the challenge and run jewellery-making workshops using plastic bottles.
The Eco Sisters make biscuits…
… and recruit litter-pickers
Joe Loeffler, who is a member of ORT America’s Board of Directors and is the lead sponsor of the project, said: “I’ve gone to visit a couple of ORT schools and they are truly amazing places and I hoped there would be a way to connect these amazing schools around the world to the Jewish day schools in the US.
“I want to express gratitude for connecting the Jewish community around the world because I believe that what you’re doing sows relationships that you might be able to enjoy for the rest of your lives.”
The teams shared that, alongside their more formal collaboration, they had also enjoyed being in touch with each other over WhatsApp and FaceTime in an informal way, speaking about their weekends and festival activities.
“That makes me so happy to hear … that you guys are building friendships because the Jewish world community is fragmented and you are solving that to bring Klal Yisrael together,” added Loeffler.
Daniel Tysman, Head of World ORT’s Education Department, said: “We’re giving these young people the tools for social action and empowering them to make positive change in their communities, and we’re also seeing them make connections and, in a few short weeks, transforming from complete strangers to friends. In these difficult times, it’s truly inspirational and heart-warming to see.”